1. Field of the Invention
This invention is directed in general to the field of audiology and in particular to an automated method and system for assessment and analysis of hearing loss.
2. Description of the Related Art
According to recent studies, over 20 million people in the United States alone have some degree of hearing loss. The number of people worldwide who have some degree of hearing loss is estimated to be much greater. Not surprisingly, many of these people are unaware that they have suffered a decrease in hearing capacity. The decreased hearing capacity may be due to several factors, including age, health, occupation, injury, and disease. This loss of hearing can lead to significant reductions in quality of life, impaired relationships, reduced access to employment and diminished productivity. Failure to treat the hearing loss may worsen the impact. According to the Better Hearing Institute, the annual cost in the United States in terms of lost productivity, special education, and medical care because of untreated hearing loss is approximately $56 billion. Much of this staggering cost can be reduced or prevented by early detection and treatment. Unfortunately, few people obtain regular and frequent hearing tests as a part of their routine healthcare due, in part, to the lack of a simple, convenient, and relatively inexpensive hearing test.
Traditionally, a hearing test is conducted in a clinical setting by a hearing health professional, such as an audiologist, who administers the hearing test manually. The hearing health professional controls an audiometer to produce a series of tones that each have a very specific frequency and intensity. The term “intensity” as used herein refers to the amplitude of the tone and is usually stated in decibels (dB). The tones are then conducted through a transducer, such as earphones or ear inserts, to the patient in a quiet room or sound isolation booth. For each audible tone, the patient gestures or otherwise indicates that he has heard the tone. If the tone is not audible, the patient does not respond. The hearing health professional thereafter adjusts the intensity level of the tone in preset increments until it becomes audible to the patient. By repeating this process for several different tones and compiling the results, the hearing health professional is able to determine the extent of the hearing loss, if any.
An advantage of having a hearing health professional manually administer the hearing test is the hearing health professional can apply his considerable training and experience during the test. For example, by simply talking to the patient and varying the loudness of his voice, the hearing health professional can determine an initial intensity level at which to start the tones and sounds. Furthermore, the hearing health professional can adapt the pace of the test as needed to accommodate a tired or uncooperative patient. More importantly, the hearing health professional can discern between false responses or guesses and responses that are legitimate. Finally, the hearing health professional can adjust the results of the hearing test as needed to reflect extenuating circumstances or problems, such as excessive ambient noise, equipment limitations, and other similar factors.
Like most highly trained and specialized medical professionals, however, a hearing health professional's time and services are usually very expensive. Accessibility and convenience can also be issues, as there are fewer hearing health professionals relative to other types of medical professionals. And while hearing health professionals are highly trained, they are limited in their ability to make rapid and accurate calculations of the test data and have to rely on approximations and rules of thumb for guidance in many instances. In addition, few hearing health professionals in the United States can speak a foreign language. As a result, traditional hearing tests are almost always administered in English, which can be a problem for non-English speaking patients.
Other drawbacks of the traditional, manually administered hearing tests include the need for a quiet room or sound isolation booth in order to properly conduct the tests. The quiet room or sound isolation booth has to comply with ANSI (American National Standards Institute) requirements in terms of how much noise may penetrate the room or booth during a test. Typically, a specially trained technician must evaluate and certify the quiet room or sound isolation booth as meeting ANSI standards before the room or booth can be used. At present, there are relatively few technicians who are trained to perform such evaluations and certifications. All the above factors combine to increase the complexity of the traditional hearing tests and thereby discourage or at least contribute to a general lack of interest by most people in obtaining regular and frequent hearing tests.
One attempt to simplify the traditional hearing test involves the use of a computer network, such as the Internet, to administer the test. The computer network facilitates interaction between a centralized test administration site and remotely located patient sites. Such an arrangement makes it possible (or at least more convenient) for people in remote or rural areas to obtain a hearing test. And the hearing test can be performed so that it meets standardized guidelines such as ANSI requirements or certification standards. Despite the increased convenience, a hearing health professional must still manually administer the test, albeit remotely. In this regard, the test is very similar to the traditional hearing test and has many of the same shortcomings.
Accordingly, what is needed is a hearing test that overcomes the shortcomings of the traditional hearing test. Specifically, what is needed is a hearing test that is simpler, more convenient, less expensive, can be administered by the patient rather than by the hearing health professional, yet does not compromise the accuracy or thoroughness of the traditional, manually administered hearing test.